Neil at All People Have Value took a walk in Houston Freedman’s Town and in Galveston. He took good pictures. Everyday life is fun and interesting if you make some effort and look around. APHV is part of NeilAquino.com.

The Texas Progressive Alliance doesn’t need hindsight to know that invading Iraq was a tragically stupid decision as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Off the Kuff is pleasantly surprised to hear that the Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority and US Rep. John Culberson have reached an accord in their longstanding feud over funding for light rail in Houston.

Letters from Texas provides a step-by-step guide to using your hypocrisy to justify your bigotry.

So last Friday, I wrote the following regarding then-unknown plans surrounding the new open-door policy between U.S. Congressman John Culberson, and the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, AKA METRO…

“But let’s be clear on what the Congressman did not promise. If a new vote occurs, rail supporters can be sure that Culberson and his group will do everything in their power to defeat the measure. The door to funding may have been cracked open, but it is far from a guarantee.”

With the details of that plan now released, I am happily prepared to eat those words. As Katherine Driessen of the Houston Chronicle reports, the new agreement between Culberson and METRO Board Chairman Gilbert Garcia is more significant than most anticipated…

Metropolitan Transit Authority leaders and U.S. Rep. John Culberson on Monday announced details of a new agreement to help the agency move forward with transit projects.

The Houston Republican, who has long been at odds with Metro over its plans for a rail line on Richmond, has agreed to help Metro obtain funds for a proposed commuter rail line on U.S. 90A and other projects. Rail on Richmond west of Shepherd Drive or on Post Oak Boulevard north of
Richmond would be contingent on voter approval.

Culberson lauded the agreement as a “historic breakthrough” in addressing Houston area traffic congestion and rebuilding his fractured relationship with Metro.

“Above all, what today symbolizes is a new era of cooperation between Metro, under Gilbert Garcia’s leadership, and the Houston area congressional delegation,” Culberson said. “We will all be working arm in arm to make sure that metro and the elected officials in the region solve our transportation problems by looking to every kind of transit and transportation available, beginning with commuter rail out 90A.”

It’s something that should probably be avoided most of the time, but today, Hyperbole is warranted. The new understanding between METRO and Houston’s Congressional delegation not only fosters new hope for a University Line, but puts Commuter Rail along the US90A corridor on the fast track. The planned route would connect Houston’s inner loop (most likely via the south end of the existing Red Line) to Missouri City.

But wait… there’s more!! Like back-door Federal funding for the East End Rail Line (originally built entirely on local funds) can now be used as “transfer credit” towards the Commuter Rail? Wha huh??? Here’s an excerpt from the full letter of agreement between Garcia and Culberson…

Congressman Culberson will begin work right away to change federal law sothat METRO can count $587 Million in local funds spent on the East End Rail Line as thelocal matching credit for a commuter rail line along 90A, and secondarily for any non-railcapital project, or any other project included in the 2003 Referendum. Rail on RichmondAvenue west of Shepherd Drive or Post Oak Boulevard would only be eligible to utilize these credits once approved in a subsequent referendum.

Also included is another $100 million payday for METRO to improve its bus fleet and transit infrastructure (again some of which is already being done as a result of System Reimagining), and a recoup of funds diverted to the Southeast and North lines that can be put back into general maintenance and improvement projects.

Of course some of this has yet to materialize, but given how Congressman Culberson was the most vocal opponent of previous initiatives, there’s little reason to think that all of these plans can’t be realized.

All told, today is a great day for transit in Southeast Texas. And Houstonians have Chairman Gilbert Garcia to thank for it.

Could Culberson’s newly-discovered love for transit spread to other Republican Lawmakers, and result in significant new transportation investments nation-wide? Only time will tell. But if today is any indication, Obama’s “lame duck” period may not be as lame as we once thought.

Though not the finalized route plan, here is one proposed route for the US90A Commuter Rail project.

It’s probably no secret that recent years have brought some huge changes at METRO… a complete scrubbing of former leadership, the formation and soon-to-be implementation of an entirely new local bus system, and the successful construction of 3 new light rail lines. For all these reasons, the METRO of today has very little in common with the agency from 6 years ago.

Even still, a few issues have haunted new leaders from the past, like the ongoing stalemate which has prevented Houston’s transit authority from receiving federal funding for two key rail projects… the beleaguered University Line down Richmond and the Uptown Line, currently planned as Bus Rapid Transit.

But as Dug Begley of the Houston Chronicle reports, agency leaders may have found a way to bring the stubborn Congressman on board with rail, or at least not continue to stand in its way…

Metro and U.S. Rep. John Culberson have called a truce in their war over a planned light rail line on Richmond Avenue, suggesting an end to an impasse that has stymied local transit development.

[…]

The announcement follows months of discussions and comes days before Metro is set to open two new rail lines serving east and southeast Houston. The Green and Purple lines open May 23, the next step in development of a light rail system that has divided Metro and many critics, notably Culberson, since voters approved it in 2003.

From his seat on the House Appropriations Committee, Culberson has stopped Metro from receiving any Federal Transit Administration funds related to rail on Richmond or a similar rail plan along Post Oak, later converted to a fixed-route bus system.

Culberson represents voters west of Shepherd along Richmond, many of whom vigorously oppose the rail line.

Recently, Culberson announced he would seek to continue cutting off the Richmond money in the next federal funding bill, but he softened his stance by saying Metro could seek money for the lines if they receive local voter support in a new election.

Culberson has promised to allow the funding to go through if and only if voters approve the rail construction through a new ballot referendum.

But let’s be clear on what the Congressman did not promise. If a new vote occurs, rail supporters can be sure that Culberson and his group will do everything in their power to defeat the measure. The door to funding may have been cracked open, but it is far from a guarantee.

However given the previous situation, any amount of progress is worth recognition. This is a huge victory for METRO, particularly Board Chairman Gilbert Garcia. At a time when the University Line seemed all but forgotten, this move sheds light on a lot of hard work being done behind the scenes.

Unless mine eyes and ears deceived me… yes. Though unlike the Chronicle’s Dug Begley, I’m not exactly ready to call him a ‘new rail line champion’.

In a bit of a shocker on the House floor yesterday, Congressman Ted Poe spoke in support of federal funding for Houston METRO’s University Line, the “cornerstone” branch of Houston’s light rail expansion that would connect Downtown and the Medical Center to the Galleria.

It’s common knowledge that John Culberson, who represents the area in which the westernmost branch of the rail line will run, is Capitol Hill’s most vocal opponent of rail transit. He has tried time and time again to kill all urban rail projects in Houston. But in speaking with Ted Poe yesterday on the House Floor, he almost sounded supportive of the line as well. Perhaps he was just trying to sound cordial with Poe and his Republican colleagues, but it’s a greater positive step than he’s ever taken before. From the video, Here’s what Poe had to say about the rail…

“…I have never been a strong champion of light rail, but my Congressional district includes a significant portion of the proposed rail line… A majority of my constituents in the affected area that would be served support the light rail. I am concerned that Section 166 of the bill that would prohibit federal funds from going to a part of the University Line that falls in… Mr. Culberson’s district, number 7. This language, although affecting his district primarily, indirectly affects my constituents because it has the effect of killing the whole project. Federal funds are needed to build the University Line in Houston. To be clear, Section 166 really doesn’t save any federal money, it just sends those funds to somewhere else…

I’ve recently surveyed the constituents who live in the affected area in my Congressional district… Those in the affected area want light rail. On Facebook alone over the last few days, 604 people supported light rail and 340 opposed it.”

Just in case you’ve forgotten, this rare occurrence where a member of Congress is against a project, but is later swayed by the overwhelming support of his constituents? That’s actually how our government is supposed to work. Americans send Congress to Washington so that they will vote the interests of their constituents, not just hold to their personal, rigid beliefs. It was also quite surprising to see Poe concede this fact publicly.

Now the next question… will Ted Poe’s reasoning be enough to sway John Culberson to drop his bill killing federal funding? No one knows for sure, but after yesterday’s events in Congress, Houston is again closer than ever to completing a major piece of it’s planned transit infrastructure. It’s good to see that some in Washington are beginning to figure out that Houston doesn’t need to fall behind just to prove a talking point.

Many Republicans in Culberson’s district are in support of transit investment. I asked Republican activist and Houstonian Christopher Busby what he thought of Poe’s remarks, and here was his response…

“As a former University of Houston student who understands the need for a modern transportation system, I think Congressman Poe’s support for the University line is great. As we continue to grow and become a more dense urban population, projects like the University light rail will become more and more essential to the development of our city’s infrastructure. We have reached the time when development of new roads and maintenance of old ones is not enough to sustain our population growth.”

But having more Houstonians in support of rail transit is just the first step. Most of the University Line is still planned as an At-Grade system, and that’s going to lead to more accidents in the future. While renewed hopes for federal funding are great, it’s time for city leaders and METRO to consider grade separation for the University Line. Most expect that when completed, this line will have the highest ridership of the whole system. It will also be traveling through the most high-density area of the city… an area that is still growing very rapidly. More people and more cars make for a higher probability of accidents. But if Houston plans for a better system now, those future issues can be avoided.

As we continue to disseminate the long arms of the 2012 election, one particular result has altered the immediate future for Houstonian… The METRO referendum passed by an impressive margin. What’s good about the result is that it shows Houstonians support their public transit.

But the “devil” of this decision was in the details. The 2012 referendum was specifically designed to improve Houston streets, busses and bus transit infrastructure (bus shelters, signage, etc). None of the money can be used to build rail, and it essentially “frees” METRO from the bounds of the 2003 referendum. Thankfully the North, Southeast and East End lines should be completed as scheduled, but the future of the Uptown and University Lines are more uncertain than ever.

And let’s cut to the chase here… The referendum really wasn’t about METRO. This referendum was a deal that the board basically had to cut with the multi-cities… The small municipalities with Metro’s tax base such as the Villages, West University, Bellaire and others. Under the current tax structure, which was set to expire had this referendum failed, the multi-cities get tons of extra tax revenue to use to build their sidewalks and maintain their roads. They get more money than they pay in… in some cases, WAY more… while Houston residents LOSE money paying for their street upgrades. So make no mistake… The most important thing that was passed on November 6th was the ability of the multi-city governments to keep ciphoning from Houston’s tax base. Less rail and less money? Sounds like a ‘win-win’ to me.

But here’s what some Houstonians don’t recognize… Transit is not, and never will be an “either or” proposition. It’s not even today. Our city is the fourth largest in the United States… well over 2.2 million people, and still growing everyday. Our economy, thankfully is one of the strongest in the nation, and it shows no signs of slowing down. After a 2012 that saw Houston lead the United States in job growth, all signs indicate that 2013 will be an even stronger year.

And you know what else all of those signs indicate? TRAFFIC.

If you live in or have been recently to Houston, no one has to tell you that this city’s infrastructure is under immense stress. Even though we’re currently third in the nation for number of freeway miles per capita, we still don’t have enough room for all of the cars and people yet to come. Though we already spend more money per capita for road maintenance than any of the other top 10 US cities, our streets are still on the verge of crumbling.

We wear out our roads more than any other major city for one simple reason… Because we are so tragically far behind on alternative modes of transportation (i.e. RAIL). Houston is nearing a crisis point of how to manage its infrastructure. We can no longer afford to be a one-trick pony and rely solely on freeways to get around. The roads can’t take it, and the drivers don’t have enough time to wait.

The improvements to Houston’s bus system are sorely needed and will be welcome. It’s past time that critical bus investment is achieved. But as a city, Houston can’t drop the ball on comprehensive solutions to our transit needs. On November 6th, the citizens of Houston made vast commitments to the future of our city, passing record improvements for the Houston Independent School District, Houston Community College and yes, Metro busses along with the General Mobility Program. But these are just some pieces of the puzzle, and we continue to drag our feet on a very crtical part. If the local funding for rail is no longer a possibility, the next step for transit supporters is to go to Washington. For those concerned, now is the time to contact Congress members like Sheila Jackon Lee, Al Green, Gene Green and John Culberson to put Houston transit back on the agenda. Once the Fiscal Cliff situation is solved, infrastructure improvements are sure to be a top-level priority of the new (and decidedly more Democratic) Congress. Hopefully our Congressional Representatives will continue to fight for the sustainable growth of Houston.